Israel sent a message to Iran on Friday ahead of its retaliatory airstrikes warning the Iranians not to respond, three people familiar with the matter said, in an attempt to limit the ongoing exchange of attacks between the two countries and prevent a wider escalation, according to the sources.

Three waves of airstrikes took place Saturday morning, US and Israeli officials said, with the first wave focusing on Iran's air defense system, while the second and third waves focused on missile and drone bases and weapons production sites.

Iran said it thwarted the Israeli attack and that limited "damage" was caused to military targets across the country, while Israeli officials said the attack was in response to Iran's massive ballistic missile strike on October 1.

Israel informed Iran in advance of the targets.

The website said that sources told it that the Israeli message was conveyed - behind the scenes - to the Iranians through several third parties. One of the sources said, "The Israelis explained to the Iranians in advance what they would attack in general and what they would not attack."

Two other sources said that Israel warned the Iranians not to respond to the attack, and threatened that it would carry out another, more significant attack if Iran responded, especially if Israeli civilians were killed or wounded. Iran has said that it does not want a full-scale war with Israel, but it will respond if it is attacked.

A US official said the United States was not involved in the Israeli operation, but was prepared to defend Israel if Iran responded. "This should be the end of direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran," the official added. "If Iran attacks Israel again, there will be consequences. We have informed Iran of this directly and indirectly."

Dutch Foreign Minister

One of the sources told the site that one of the channels that conveyed messages to Iran before the Israeli strike was Dutch Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp, who wrote on the X platform hours before the Israeli attack: “I spoke with the Iranian Foreign Minister about the war and the growing tensions in the region. I urged restraint. All parties must act to prevent further escalation.”

Israel informed Iran in advance of the targets.

The website said that sources told it that the Israeli message was conveyed - behind the scenes - to the Iranians through several third parties. One of the sources said, "The Israelis explained to the Iranians in advance what they would attack in general and what they would not attack."

Two other sources said that Israel warned the Iranians not to respond to the attack, and threatened that it would carry out another, more significant attack if Iran responded, especially if Israeli civilians were killed or wounded. Iran has said that it does not want a full-scale war with Israel, but it will respond if it is attacked.

A US official said the United States was not involved in the Israeli operation, but was prepared to defend Israel if Iran responded. "This should be the end of direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran," the official added. "If Iran attacks Israel again, there will be consequences. We have informed Iran of this directly and indirectly."

Dutch Foreign Minister

One of the sources told the site that one of the channels that conveyed messages to Iran before the Israeli strike was Dutch Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp, who wrote on the X platform hours before the Israeli attack: “I spoke with the Iranian Foreign Minister about the war and the growing tensions in the region. I urged restraint. All parties must act to prevent further escalation.”

US officials said they expected Iran to respond to the Israeli attack in the coming days but in a limited way that would enable Israel to stop the “tit for tat” cycle. “Our goal is to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East,” said National Security Council spokesman Sean Savitt. “We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”

Source: Axios